Meet Ryan and Sarah Marie!

I'll never forget the first time we had Ryan and Sarah Marie over for dinner and we heard their journey and God's call and leading in their lives. It was clear that God had called them to live missionally and thru various circumstances He was leading them to serve specifically in the church planting efforts in Trieste, Italy.

To prepare for their upcoming move to Italy they felt led to live like missionaries now and purposely moved into the apartments neighboring Redeemer Church. It was a joy to hear how they prayed for their neighbors and reached out in a variety of ways. Their love for Jesus apparent and tangible.

In the summer of 2008, the time arrived for their move to Italy. Sarah, an art teacher, got employed at an international school teaching; and Ryan would concentrate on learning Italian and teaching English as an outreach. It has been an amazing year for them and their church in Trieste.

This past summer, Bob and I had the opportunity to meet some of the members of the Trieste Church and catch up with Sarah and Ryan in their new home in Italy. When there we learned that God laid it on the heart of one of the women attending their church to step out in faith and host a women's conference in Trieste. They are praying and believing God for 200 women to attend. We as a church want to pray and believe with them in this!

This Friday, October 2 we are excited to partner with Sarah and the women of Trieste Church in this outreach to women. We are hosting our first Engaging a Flat World for event, Friday at 6:30 p.m. featuring an Italian dinner, learning more about the Trieste church plant and our missionaries Sarah and Ryan Marie, and spending time partnering in prayer for their conference on Saturday - remembering that they are 7 hours ahead of us! We are excited to learn what God is going to do through this outreach and through this time of prayer. Please plan now to join us for this special event! For more information contact tamarahamill@gmail.com

(submitted by Natalie Bartelme. Picture above: Ryan and Sarah Marie, Bob and Natalie Bartelme, Lake Bled, 2009)